Universal joint



July 16, 1940. A. F. GREINE UNIVERSAL JOINT Filed Aug. l, 1938 FIG.2

llllli .o. w e .lraw

INVENTOR HRI- N mw G FW N O T N A WM M FIG.4.

ATTORNEYS Patented July 16, 1940 UNITED STATE S PATENT OFFICE y UNIVERSAL JOINT AntonF. Greiner, Detroit,v Mich. Application August `1, 1938,v Serial No. 222,472

6 Claims.-

v'Ihe present invention relates to a universal joint and more specifically to a torque transmitting universal joint of. simplified design. y

It is an object of the present invention toprof vide a universal joint which will operate efficiently and which is characterized by the extreme simplicity of its construction.

It is a further object of the vpresent invention to provide auniversal joint characterized by a single driving pin interconnecting the .driving and driven means.

It is afurther object of the present invention toprovide a'universal joint in which -no spherical surfaces are required.

It is a further object of .the presentinvention to vprovide a universal -joint which comprises essentially a cup shape member in combination with a slotted shaft end in which .the driving connection takes the form of a pin spanning the cup member and receivedy within the slotted shaftend. f

It is a furtherobject of theV present invention to provide a. torque transmitting universal joint in which a single pin constitutes the driving connection, permitting the employment of a single pair of bearings therein.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent as the description proceeds and when taken in conjunction with the accompanyingy drawing, and

wherein Fig.r1 is a side elevation of my improved joint; Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line 2 2,

Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section on the line 3-3,

Fig. 2; y

Fig. 4- is .a transverse section on the line 4 4, Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective of. the king pin employed in my universal joint. V

For purposes of illustration AI have shown in Figures l. to 4 a `preferred embodiment of my present invention. It will be understood that this embodiment is illustrative only and is to be re.- garded in no sense as limiting. i

In the present embodiment a cup member genwith suitable bolt holes or other attaching means, indicated atl I1, is formedy as shown in Fig. 3 to vconform generally to the shallow cup portion I 4. Preferably` the flange portion' I6 is separately formed in the interest of economy and is welded or otherwise secured to the cup member III as indicated at I1. I have indicated at I8 apassage throughwhich the interior of the assembled bearing may be charged with lubricating material and subsequently permanently sealed.

It may be pointed out atthe present time that the universal joint disclosed is of the type which when assembled is permanently sealed and need not thereafter be disassembled. For this purpose it is desirable to` charge the interior of the joint with lubricating material and provisions subsequently to be described are made for insuring adequate lubrication at the necessary points..

It will be understood that the cup member generally indicated at IIJ is'adapted to be secured to a driving shaft, or the like. It is within the contemplation of the present invention thatfthe forked portion 23 having two spaced ears 25 and A26, and an intermediate slot 24, best seen in Fig. 4. These ears are adapted to serve as .torque transmitting members and receive the thrust of the roller pin 3i) vthrough the rollers 3 I. For this purposethe ears 25. and 26 are provided at their opposed surfacesl with fiatA parallel driving surfaces 21 and 28. The surfaces 21 and 28, for av purpose-subsequently to be4 described, are spaced apart a distance substantially. equal to the diameter of the rollers 3|. The relationship is "such that when therollers 3| engage the surface 21 or 28, there `is a very slight clearance between the roller and the opposite` surface. In addition ears 25v and 26 are provided with smooth cylindrical bearing apertures 29 for a purpose subsequently to be described. These apertures 29, however, are located so that their axis passes through the geometrical axis-of the member and when the device is assembled the axis passes also throughthe center of rotation. Y y.

In order to transmit torque from the cup member I0 to the shaft end 22, I provide a pin. 30 which I. designate herein as a roller pin. This pin is 'adapted to be received within the diametrically' opposed apertures I2 .and is journaled therein for free rotation. In the assembled uni-l versal joint the roller pin 30 is received within the slot 24 and rotation'of the cup member I0 is adaptedto transmit the torque through the roller pin to the shaft end member 22. y

In order that this torque may bemost efficiently. transmitted without undue wear to the bearing surfaces,1 v4prefer. to surround the roller pin 30 withapair of rollers 3lv andl to provide inter.

. face 21.

The rollers 3| are of a size to be freely received V within the slot 24 between the opposed flat plane surfaces 21 and 28. As will be readily appreciated, during operating conditionswhen the pin 3|] is serving to transmit torque from the cup member I to the shaft end 22, the rollers 3| will be forced in driving relation against the surfaces 21 and 28.

Referring now specifically to Fig. 2, if the direction of rotation of the cup member is clockwise the upper roller 3| is forced against ear 26 so that motionbetween theroller and the surface 28, due to inclination of the axes of the cup member and of the shaft end, causes rotation of the roller 3|. The roller at the non-driving side has a slight clearance with respect to the plane sur- It will be readily understood that the opposite conditions. prevail with respect to the lower roller 3| shown in Fig. 2; that is, the lower roller has a slight clearance with respect to the surface 28, and is in driving relation with surface 21.

In order to retain the cup member I0 connected to shaft end 22, I provide a second pin 4U which I designate as a king pin. 'I'he king pin 4D is rotatively received within the opposed bearing apertures 29 provided in the ears 25 and 26. As best seen in Fig. 5, this king pin is in the form of a cylinder provided intermediate its end with two flattened portions 4I. An aperture 42 is provided piercing the pin and opening centrally in the flat portions 4|. Preferably the aperture 42 is of a size to receive the roller pin 3|) rotatably but snugly.

In assembling the device, washers 56 are provided intermediate -the king pin 40 and the rollers 3|. These bearings in addition to their bearing function serve also as retainers for retaining needle bearings 32 within roller` member 3|.

A retainer ring 45 is provided which has a cylindrical inner surface 46 adapted to conform to the exterior surface of the cylindrical portion II of the cup member. Ring 45 has its exterior surface 41 formed as a portion of a sphere. This ring may be slipped over the cup member IU as indicated in Fig. 2 and will serve as an additional retaining means for the roller pin 30. The shaft end member 22 has an annular ange 5D onwhich is slidably ,supported shell which may be of 'any suitable material but which is preferably of a relatively light gauge sheet metal. The shell 5I is formed spherically to conform to the surface 41.

The shell 5| is adapted to seal the interior of the universal joint and for this purpose, if de,- sired, a suitable sealing gasket indicated at 52 may be employed. This may take the form of a ring of suitable material, or the sealing engagement between the shell 5I and the ring 45 may be formed in any well known manner as desired. A similar gasket 52 seals the engagement between flange 50 and shell 5|.

The iiat portion 33 of the cup member I Il is preferably'provided with lubricating grooves 55 indicated in Fig. 3. D-uring the operation of my improved universal joint, due to centrifugal action, and the conical or inclined shape of cup portion I3, lubricant will be forced radially of into grooves 55 and from there into the space y,

between the rollers 3| and the rollershaft 30, thus effectively lubricating the roller bearings 32. By this means a constantsupply of lubricating material is provided for the bearings and in addition the lubricating material will be effectively circulated therepast to provide a constant supply of fresh lubricating material. This also has the additional e'ect of substantially cooling the bearings, due to the effective circulation of lubricant.

l It should be noted at this time that my improved universal joint is notable for its extreme simplicity, comprising as it does only six essential elements; namely, the cup member I0, the shaft end 22, the roller pin 30, the rollers 3|, the king pin 40 and the retainer ring 45. 'I'hese parts may be manufactured in quantities very economically since there are no spherical bearing ,surfaces to be accurately machined. kIt should be noted that the retainer ring 45 does not have a load bearing surface, the spherical external surface 41 thereof having merely sealing engagement with the shell 5| so that the surface 41 need not be accurately finished. This is particularly true Where, if preferred, suitable additional sealing means, such as 52, are provided. Y

In assembling my improved universal joint, the shaft end 22 is positioned within the cup I0 with the slot 24 properly aligned with apertures I2 and with the king pin 40 vin the apertures 29. The king pin 40 is positioned so that its central aperture 42 is also aligned with apertures I2. The roller pin 30 is now inserted, andas it is inserted is passed through the rollersl 3| and needle bearings 32, the Awashers 56 also being positioned over the pin in an appropriate position. As previously stated, the pin 30 fitsv into the aperture 42 and it is centered therein.

The shell 5| is separately spun into snug enbe slipped as a unit over cup lli, and in order to retain them in assembled position, a screw or the like may secure the ring to the cup. For this purpose the screw hole in the ring may be counis charged through the aperture I8 with a suit able lubricant, after which the aperture I8 is permanently sealed.

It should be particularly noted that my ,improved universal joint has a highly eicient torque transmitting relation. transmitted from the cup I0 tov the'eXtreme ends of the roller pin 30 and from theroller pin 3D through the bearings or rollers 3| to areas adjacent the edge of surfaces 21 and 28.

It should be noted that the king pin 4I) does not receive the torque and serves merely as a means for retaining the parts in assembled relation. This is an important feature of my invention, since the effective lever arm of the driving member I D is indicated by L-I andthe effective In addition it should be .noted that ther bend- The torque is i 'Ihese lever arms y Tifo gagement with ring 45. The shell and ring may l ing moment of the roller pin is measured by the difference between arms L-I and L-2, indicated in Fig. 3 by the letter a. In other words, the rollerv pin 30 is not subjected to an excessive bending moment as it is in the common type of universal joint where thel torque is transmitted through a transverse member by applying the torque to the ends thereof and transmitting the torque .from substantially the center thereof. This results in extreme efficiency, long Wear and, due to the roller 3l, o luietv operation of my im-` proved universal joint.l l

It is desired toy point out at this time that due to the novel design of my improved universal joint the geometric center of the joint is under all conditions and at any permissible angularity 0f the axes the center of rotation. Therefore, this joint may be constructed of relatively light Weight material and -still may be employed for transmitting high torques. Due also to the novel construction of my universal joint and particularly to the employment of a roller pin 30, together `with rollers 3l which rotate or revolve about tWoy axes, the motion of the rollers is under accurate control by the useof the king pin 40.- 'Ihe king pin 40 serves to retain the geometric` center of the roller pin 30 and its associatedA elements at the center of rotation.

vthat the torque is transmitted through the middle of the roller pin 30 and the roller 3| directly from* the periphery of the cup member I0 to a point adjacent to the periphery or Widely displaced from the axes of the shaft end member 22.

The foregoing detailed descriptionhas been given for clearness and understanding only, and

no unnecessary limitation should be understood therefrom, but the appended claims should be construed as broadly'as permissible in View ofy the prior art.

What I claim as my invention is: 1. A universal joint comprising a bifurcated member having a centrally apertured pin span-y ning the legs of said member, a cup having a transverse pin received between said legs and passing through the aperture in said first pin,

said cup at its edge having a cylindrical exterior surface, a ring conforming to said surface and spherically shaped externally, and a spherically shaped shell carried by said bifurcated member and slidably engaging said ring.

2. A universal joint comprising a cup member provided Witha cylindrical lip having diametrically disposed apertures therethrough; a bifur- Vcated member having an open ended slot, and a centrally apertured' pinv spanning said slot, said bifurcated member and pin being freely withdrawable from said cup member with theraperv tures in said cup aligned withv the aperture in said pin; a driving pin insertable through an aperture in said cup, and adapted to be received in said slot andin the aperture in said-first pin; an annular member tting 4over said lip and hav- From an inspection vof Figs. 3 and 4, it may be ing a spherical outer surface; and a spherically formed shell carried by said bifurcatedl member and tting over said annular member.

3. A universal joint comprising a bifurcated member having ears provided With flat' opposed parallel surfaces, said ears having aligned circular apertures, a king pin having circular ends receivable in said apertures and having a flat, centrally apertured middle portion, a cup having a lip provided with diametrically disposed apertures, a driving pin received at its ends in the apertures in said lip and centrally received in the aperture in pin, rollers around said driving pin between said surfaces, bearings between said rollers and said pin, and bearing retainers abutting the dat middle portion of said king pin and closing the ends of said rollers.

4. In a universal joint having a cup provided with a cylindrical lip portion'having diametrically opposed apertures therethrough, a member having laterally spaced portions forming substantially parallel opposed Wall surfaces and extending into said cup, a torque transmitting pin extending between the opposed wall surfaces and having the opposite ends projecting intoy said openings, an annular member sleeved on the cylindrical lip in overlapping relation to the apertures and having a spherically-shaped outer surface, and a spherically formed sealing shell -oarried by the first named member and fitting over the spherical surface of said annular member.

. 5. A universal joint comprising a cup member having diametrically opposed apertures, a member having laterally spaced portions forming opposed substantially parallel Wall surfaces and extending into the cup, a kingpin. spanning the laterally spaced Wall portions of said member and having the opposite ends rotatably mounted inV apertures respectively formed inV the laterally spaced portions, a second pin received at its ends in the apertures formed in the cup member and having an rintermediate portion received in an .aperture formed in the central portion of the kingpin, bearings mounted on the second named pin at opposite sides of the kingpin, said bearings being held in spaced relation to each other by the kingpin and having a rolling engagement with the opposed substantially parallel surfaces aforesaid.

' 6. A universal joint comprising a cup member having diametrically opposed apertures, a member having laterally spaced portions forming opposed substantially parallel Wall surfaces and eX- tending into said cup, a kingpin spanning the laterally spaced portions and having the opposite ends'respectively rotatably mounted in apertures respectively formed in saidV laterally spaced rportions, said kingpin having a fiat central portion of less Width than the diameter of the kingpin and having an opening through the flat portion, a ypin received at its ends in the apertures in said cup member and having an intermediate portion exeach other by the flat portion of the kingpin andk 4having a rolling engagement with the opposed parallel surfaces aforesaid.

ANTON F. GREINER. 

